Turbulence is apparent cause of flight death

Responding to the sad news of a passenger killed onboard a plane that was affected by turbulence, Professor Paul Williams said:

"Turbulence fatalities on commercial flights are fortunately very rare, but have sadly increased by one today.

"Turbulence on flights can be caused by storms, mountains, and strong air currents called jet streams.  In this last case, it is called clear-air turbulence, and it can be difficult to avoid because it doesn't show up on the weather radar in the flight deck.  A detailed analysis of the meteorological circumstances and the particular type of turbulence that caused today's fatality will take some time.

"The last fatality caused by clear-air turbulence on a commercial flight occurred on 28 December 1997, on a United Airlines flight from Tokyo to Honolulu.  Other forms of turbulence have caused more recent fatalities, but as far as I am aware there has not been a turbulence fatality on a commercial flight since 2009.

"We now have strong evidence that turbulence is increasing because of climate change.  We recently discovered that severe clear-air turbulence in the North Atlantic has increased by 55% since 1979.  Our latest future projections indicate a doubling or trebling of severe turbulence in the jet streams in the coming decades, if the climate continues to change as we expect."

(Please note that Professor Williams is unfortunately not available for interview. However, we may be able to connect you with a colleague, instead).